In an optical communication system, it is generally necessary to couple an optical fiber to an opto-electronic transmitter, receiver or transceiver device and, in turn, to couple the device to an electronic system such as a switching system or processing system. These connections can be facilitated by modularizing the transceiver device. An opto-electronic transceiver module includes an opto-electronic light source, such as a laser, and an opto-electronic light receiver, such as a photodiode, and may also include various electronic circuitry associated with the laser and photodiode. For example, driver circuitry can be included for driving the laser in response to electronic signals received from the electronic system. Likewise, receiver circuitry can be included for processing the signals produced by the photodiode and providing output signals to the electronic system. The electronic and opto-electronic devices can be mounted on a small circuit board or similar substrate inside the transceiver module housing. The circuit board can include an electrical connector for connecting the opto-electronic transceiver to the external electronic system. The housing or enclosure in which the circuit board, laser, photodiode, driver and receiver circuitry, etc., are contained is commonly made of metal to shield these elements against electromagnetic interference (EMI).
In some modular opto-electronic transceiver systems, an optical plug that terminates an optical fiber cable can be plugged into a socket in the transceiver module housing. When coupled to the transceiver module in this manner, the ends of optical fibers in the plug are optically aligned with optics in the opto-electronic transceiver. The optics couple optical signals between the fibers and the laser and photodiode. A first fiber, which can be referred to as a transmit fiber, is optically coupled to the laser so that optical signals generated by the transceiver module are transmitted via that transmit fiber. A second fiber, which can be referred to as a receive fiber, is optically coupled to the photodiode so that optical signals received via the receive fiber can be received by the transceiver module.
In some opto-electronic transceiver modules, the optical signal path includes a 90-degree turn. For example, the above-described circuit board on which the laser and photodiode are mounted can be oriented perpendicularly or normal to the axes along which the signals are communicated with the optical fibers in the plug. The laser emits the optical transmit signal in a direction normal to the circuit board, and the photodiode receives the optical receive signal from a direction normal to the circuit board. The above-referenced optics in the transceiver module can include a first lens that collimates the optical transmit signal emitted by the laser and a second lens that focuses the optical receive signal upon the photodiode. A mirror or reflector in the transceiver module that is oriented at a 45-degree angle with respect to the circuit board can redirect the optical signals emitted by the laser and received by the photodiode.
A user, such as a manufacturer of the above-mentioned switching system, processing system, or other electronic system that includes optical communication links, commonly uses an opto-electronic transceiver module or similar part by soldering the part to a printed circuit board (either directly or by soldering an intermediate coupling connector to the printed circuit board) as a step of a manufacturing process for an electronic circuit assembly. The user can select from among various commercially available opto-electronic transceiver modules having different configurations (i.e., different models or part numbers), such as a configuration in which a mating optical fiber plug can be plugged into the transceiver module from a direction parallel to the plane of the printed circuit board at an edge of the printed circuit board or a configuration in which a mating optical fiber plug can be plugged into the transceiver module from a direction perpendicular or normal to the plane of the printed circuit board. Each of the different transceiver module configurations is commonly assembled from a different set of constituent parts or elements. The need for a manufacturer of transceiver modules to produce a number of different transceiver modules having different configurations (i.e., different models or part numbers) from an accordingly significant number of different constituent parts can impact manufacturing economy. Also, as some types of transceiver modules are commonly mounted to a system circuit board by soldering or similar relatively permanent methods, in such instances the transceiver module is not readily removable for maintenance or replacement. Furthermore, reflow soldering methods can potentially harm heat-sensitive transceiver module elements.
Connector systems have been suggested that include both an optical signal path and an electrical signal path. When the plug connector of such a system is plugged into the socket or receptacle connector of such a system, optical signals can be communicated in parallel with electrical signals between the plug and socket connectors. It has been suggested to provide such a connector system in a configuration similar to a Universal Serial Bus (USB) configuration. The buildup of dust or other contaminants on the optical elements in such a system may be problematic.